Hello sunshine!

It's theme week over at Less is More and the challenge is Hello Sunshine.  I made the background panel yesterday but couldn't decide what to do with it! When I was browsing on Pinterest I saw a card using this butterfly die so thought I would try it - I was pleased with the final effect.  I made the antennae by twisting some wire around a knitting needle.

Materials used:-
Distress inks - mustard seed, spiced marmalade and ripe persimmon
Smooch spritz spray - gold
Sentiment - Creative Stamping magazine 19
Stampin Up Sizzix butterfly die
Spellbinders circle die
Versafine black onyx ink

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Sending joy!

There is a new challenge on Muse Christmas Visions with a great card created by Chriss Blagrave.  I was inspired by her use of vellum and jade and tried to replicate this in my card.  I felt that the vellum was a little bare so I embossed it - I'm glad vellum seems to be making a come back as I do like the delicate effect it produces. 

Materials used:-
Wow embossing powder - vintage jade
Uniko Studio stunning snowflakes stamps and dies
Uniko Studio fontiments birthday stamps
Archival ink - Wendy Vecci watering can
Lawn Fawn joy die
Vellum embossed with a Cuttlebug snowflakes EF

Thanks for visiting my blog - I really appreciate your comments.  Margaret

Merry Monday Joy!

Challenge #158 over at Merry Monday is to use a stencil in your Christmas card. I used the Tim Holtz mask to create a panel. I then wrapped a narrow piece of vellum around this. I inked and clear embossed some card before die cutting the word - I found this was easier. I like the peacock feathers ink against the white card although I think my photo doesn't do it justice!

Materials used:-
Tim Holtz holiday knit mask
Peacock feathers distress ink
Lawn Fawn joy die
Uniko Studio fontiments birthday set
Archival ink - Wendy Vecci watering can

Thanks for visiting my blog - I really appreciate your comments. Margaret

Just a note!

I was inspired to make this card by the cue word MUSIC on CASology this week.  I tried to keep my card clean and simple with lots of white space.  I cut a mask using a Spellbinders die and then inked this with one of the new distress inks to create the look of old parchment paper.

I am also entering this card into Addicted to Stamps challenge #144 - CAS

Materials used:-
Violin stamp - Clarity stamps
Music stamp - crafty Individuals
Sentiment - Chocolate Baroque Mackintosh Sentiments
Distress ink - fossilised Amber
Archival ink - Wendy Vecchi potting soil
Inkylicious ink duster

Thanks for visiting my blog! Margaret

On the sea!

This week's theme on Less is More is water and it is also one layer week.   First I masked a rectangle on a watercolour card and then used Hobby Art stamps to create a scene which I coloured with distress inks. I added a sentiment from Stampin Up which I felt complemented the overall look.

Materials used:-
Hobby Art stamps - harbour and coastal wildlife sets
Stampin Up sentiment from the sheltering trees set
Distress inks - salty ocean, broken China, tumbled glass, stormy sky
Distress marker - vintage photo
Versafine black onyx ink
Clarity clouds mask

Thanks for visiting my blog - now pop over to LIM to see lots of other interpretations of water.  Margaret

Nordic dove

There is a new Christmas challenge in blogland - Muse Christmas Visions.   I was inspired by Kimberly Wiener's beautiful card with its combination of gold embossing and dark blue and tried to replicate this in my card.  I love the simplicity of this Nordic dove stamp so kept my card very CAS!

I am also going to enter this card into Addicted to Stamps #143 where the theme is holiday - this card is my first Christmas card of 2015!

Materials used:-
Woodward Nordic dove stamp
Sizzix Tim Holtz holiday words script die
Blue card and gold mirri card
Gold embossing powder

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Colour challenge

It's a colour challenge over at Less is More this week so Chrissie and her team want us to use opposite colours of the wheel. I decided to use turquoise and orange pencils to colour the butterflies - the stamp is from Chocolate Baroque.  Everything went well until I smudged the sentiment!

Materials used:-
Chocolate Baroque Year of Stamping - April stamp
Sentiment - Uniko Studio Fontiments Birthday set
Archival ink - coffee
Spectrum Noir pencils
We Are Memory Keepers corner chomper

Thanks for visiting - now pop over to LIM to see what the other participants created.

Tag card

I'm really at the last minute with my card for Less is More this week! The challenge is to make a card using a tag. I used a Tim Holtz stencil and distress inks to create the background for my tag. I felt the card was a little bare so I scored around the edges.  This must be the quickest card I've ever made for a challenge.

Materials used:-
Sizzix die for the tag
Tim Holtz stencil - gothic
Sentiment - Chocolate Baroque Mackintosh Sentiments
Distress inks - dried marigold, spiced marmalade, vintage photo
Chloe sten die for the plants
Ribbon inked with distress ink

Thanks for visiting!

Muse Dragonfly

Chrissie's lovely card on Muse this week was the inspiration for this card. I loved the bright colours and the gold embossing she used and I tried to replicate this effect. To make the panel I embossed the grasses first and then "swooshed" the card though the distress inks which I had spritzed with water. I like the combination of these two colours. The dragonfly was embossed on vellum.  It was only when I was finished that I realised you could see hardly any of the honeycomb embossing.

Materials used:-
Stamps - Hero Arts silhouette grasses and Stampin Up Four You sentiment set
Distress inks - picked raspberry and abandoned coral
Gold embossing powder
Cuttlebug honeycomb embossing folder
Creative dies - dragonfly stamp and die set
Lawn Fawn large stitched rectangle stackable so die
Nest abilities tag die

Thanks for visiting my blog - I really appreciate your comments. Margaret